


Big Brother

by JustARandomIdiot



Category: Story Thieves Series - James Riley
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Big Brother AU, But also i might be lying so ;), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Slice of Life, i swear that thats all this is, just some good ol sanderson family bonding :)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:33:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24435931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustARandomIdiot/pseuds/JustARandomIdiot
Summary: An AU where Orion joins Christian and Catherine in the nonfictional world and gets to be an older brother to Bethany.
Relationships: Bethany Sanderson & Orion | Kid Twilight, Christian Sanderson | Doc Twilight/Catherine Sanderson, Orion | Kid Twilight & Catherine Sanderson, Orion | Kid Twilight & Christian Sanderson | Doc Twilight
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	Big Brother

**Author's Note:**

> Just some bits of an AU where Orion is Bethany’s older brother. I don’t have every chapter written yet, so don’t expect regular updates, as this AU isn’t my priority at the moment.

The nonfictional world sucked.

It wasn’t like Jupiter City, where they had superheroes flying through the skies and walking down the sidewalks. There were no cool vehicles going down the streets or weird buildings by the streets. There weren’t even any villains that went around the city, robbing stores or doing whatever else villains did!

Instead, it was boring. And _very_ plain, compared to Jupiter City.

Absolutely _nothing_ happened in the nonfictional world, and Orion hated it.

And since he had to live there now, Christian said he had to go to a nonfictional school. Yuck. They didn’t even teach the history of superheroes! Just boring old history. Which was also kind of different. It wasn’t like anything he learned back in Jupiter City, meaning he had to completely relearn history now.

Great.

At least the only good thing was that Catherine made good cookies, so at least cookies didn’t taste different in the nonfictional world. But other than that, he really didn’t like it here.

He wanted to go back to Jupiter City, where his room and his bed was. Where his favorite park was. Where his school was. Where his _home_ was.

“When can we go back home?” he had asked Christian one night, only to receive a weird look from him.

“What do you mean, kid?” he had replied, ruffling his hair. “This _is_ our home.”

_No, it’s not,_ he thought, but he didn’t say anything. 

“Anyway, it’s bedtime, kid. Better get some sleep, okay?”

No, it was _not_ okay.

Orion tossed and turned in his not-bed, sleep not coming as he let his frustrations fester inside him. With a huff, he lay on his back, biting the inside of his cheek as he stared up at the glow stars that Catherine had put up on the ceiling of his not-room.

Didn’t Christian know _anything_? This was the nonfictional world. This was where Catherine lived, _not_ where Orion and Christian lived. This wasn’t Jupiter City. This wasn’t home.

This would _never_ be his home.

* * *

Christian and Catherine spent a lot of time together. They were always kissing and smiling and touching noses and all that other icky, mushy love stuff. Gross.

Not that Orion cared right now. No, he was too busy trying to remember if it was George Lincoln who was the American president with the top hat and the beard. Or was his name Abe Washington? No, wasn’t that one of the old ones with the white hair?

History had never been a subject he was good at, unless it was about superhero history. Now, he basically had to relearn _all_ his history (nonfictional history seemed to be _very_ different from Jupiter City history), and there were no superheroes to learn about! Which was really becoming a frustration about the nonfictional world. Sure, nonfictional history showed up at least five times on his list of things he hated about the nonfictional world, but that was how much he hated it!

Let’s see, what else did he hate about the nonfictional world… It was boring, he got detention for fighting bullies, no superheroes, people were meaner, he recently had to wake up to Catherine throwing up every morning, he couldn’t bring his staff outside, the portal had to be in Mr. Chase’s house instead of where _they_ were staying, Catherine was now hogging the bathroom a lot, the stars in the sky were kind of different… It was an ongoing list, any little thing that bothered him being added.

At least he got to go back to Jupiter City when he got to patrol and train with Christian, though those were now more limited since Orion had to attend nonfictional school. (He had asked if he could just skip at least a _few_ days. Christian and Catherine said no.) And he was lucky his birthday was on a Saturday, so he could spend his entire birthday just being Kid Twilight and helping Doc beat up villains!

His tenth birthday was also the same day that they decided to drop the surprise.

He was enjoying a milkshake from his favorite cafe in Jupiter City when they told him. He and Christian were finished with patrol and were now back to their secret identities. Catherine had been in the nonfictional world for most of the day, but she came back during the evening, being all mushy-gushy with Christian. (Really? Right in front of his milkshake?)

He ignored her at first, like he did a lot. Besides, why would she care that it was his birthday, anyway? She wasn’t his mom! She never would be.

“Hey, kid,” Christian spoke up, smiling at him. “How would you feel about being a big brother?”

He looked up from his milkshake. “My parents are dead,” he stated simply. Christian should know that, how could he be a brother with dead parents?

Christian continued to smile. “Well, your birth parents, yes, but…” He turned to Catherine, still smiling.

Orion couldn’t ignore what Catherine said.

“We’re having a baby!”

His milkshake dropped from his hands, the remains of it spilling onto the floor.

“Isn’t that great?” Christian exclaimed. “You’re gonna have a little brother or sister!”

Orion pursed his lips before taking off. He tried to block out Catherine’s and Christian’s voices calling after him. He didn’t care that they sounded worried; he just continued running, pushing his legs as hard as he could as he headed towards… well, he didn’t know where he was going. He just wanted to get away.

Tears were _not_ stinging at his eyes as he ran, he _wasn’t_ crying! He didn’t cry! He _never_ cried! Not since he lost his parents, his _real_ parents.

“Orion!”

He. Didn’t. Cry.

He turned to the first left that he could, curling up next to the dumpster.

And he _wasn’t_ crying.

Long ago, he told himself that he wouldn’t get close to Christian, and he certainly wouldn’t get close to Catherine. Well, this was why, and this was what happened. They had their own family to start. He couldn’t ever be a part of it, no matter how much they tried to make him think that.

He curled up tighter, still absolutely not crying.

He’d never belong with them. Not with Christian, not with Catherine, not in the nonfictional home. He _didn’t_ belong.

The house was soon a lot more different. Catherine’s belly grew, she became a lot more moody, and Christian seemed to be by her side a lot more often now. And all they seemed to care about was the baby. They constantly spoke to them, and they already decorated their room and everything! Not to mention all the toys and clothes and other baby junk that they bought.

Sometimes though, Catherine would gently place Orion’s hand on her large belly, letting him feel the baby kick. It was weird. And she’d sometimes tell him to _talk_ to the baby, while the baby was still in Catherine’s belly! _That_ was even weirder (and more embarrassing).

Even so, it was still all about the baby.

Nine months soon passed, and Christian had to take Catherine to the hospital; the baby– they had chosen the name Bethany– was due to be born any day now.

And apparently, Orion couldn’t come with them. Nor could he stay at the house on his own, even though he could’ve easily taken care of himself. (He considered asking to stay in Jupiter City, but he doubted that they would’ve even agreed to that.) So Christian decided that Orion would stay with Mr. Chase.

“Thank you so much for doing this for us, Murray,” Christian greeted the man as he stepped out of the car. Orion hopped out behind him with his Batman backpack filled with the stuff he’d need to stay: his toothbrush, pajamas, his DS, all the essentials. (He tried packing his Kid Twilight outfit, but Christian said that he wasn’t allowed through the portal without his supervision. Boo.)

“Of course!” Mr. Chase replied, hugging Christian. “Anything for my favorite people!” He turned to Orion, ruffling his hair. 

Orion immediately shoved Mr. Chase’s hand away, huffing. Great. Now he had to fix his hair.

“I know I’ve said this a million times, but congratulations! And tell Cathy I say hi!”

Christian laughed. “I will!” He smiled down at Orion, ruffling his hair as well.

Orion glared. What was with everyone touching his hair today?

“Be good, all right, kid?”

Mr. Chase placed a hand onto Orion’s shoulder, waving Christian off. “He’ll be fine, Christian, don’t worry! You, on the other hand, should be getting back to that hospital. Your wife is waiting!”

Orion had to fight the urge not to shove Mr. Chase’s hand off again.

“Okay, okay, I get it!”

With some final goodbyes, Christian got back in the car and drove off, Mr. Chase waving at him. Orion just stared, watching as the car got smaller and smaller down the road, until it turned a corner and out of their sight.

“Well, no use just standing out here,” Mr. Chase said, opening the front door. “Why don’t I make us some lunch? Mac and cheese is your favorite, right?”

Orion stared down the street for a few seconds longer. How far was the hospital? Would Christian and Catherine be gone long? Would they be coming back? 

He decided not to dwell on those questions. Gripping the straps of his backpack tighter, he turned around and headed inside for some macaroni and cheese.

* * *

  
After three or four days (Orion stopped counting after one), Mr. Chase finally said he could go back to Christian’s and Catherine’s home. After the two of them packed his stuff back into his backpack, they got themselves into the car and drove back, Orion silently staring out the window. He watched the lampposts zoom by, along with the rest of the world.

He was going back.

Honestly, he didn’t know how to feel about that. He had to admit, he kind of liked it at Mr. Chase’s place. But Mr. Chase didn’t think that he should stay. (“Christian and Cathy take good care of you, don’t they?”) 

He didn’t understand.

Now, Orion had to go back and meet their baby. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to do that.

Why did he have to go back? They had their child now, they didn’t need him! Right? Wasn’t that how it was supposed to be? There was no way he belonged with them.

Too soon, they were back at the house, Christian’s car already in the driveway as he and Catherine stepped out, some kind of bundle in Catherine’s arms. Seeing Mr. Chase’s car pull up, Christian smiled and waved at them.

“Thanks again for watching Orion,” he said, taking from his car a giant pack of diapers.

“Anytime! Hey, you need help with that?”

“It’s fine. Can you get some of Catherine’s stuff in the trunk though?”

Orion just watched them, fiddling a bit with the straps of his backpack. Was he supposed to be doing something?

There was a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up. Catherine gave him a gentle smile, holding the baby with one arm. Orion wasn’t too sure, but she looked kind of tired. Was it from the hospital? “Let’s wait for them inside, all right?”

He made no reply, just following her in the house, staring at the bundle. He couldn’t see much of Bethany from where he stood.

Catherine closed the front door with her foot, making her way to the couch. Orion dropped his bag to the floor and sat down next to her, watching as she cooed at the baby in her arms and made weird noises at her.

Bethany didn’t seem to care.

Catherine suddenly looked up, the grin still on her face, probably noticing how he was staring. “Wanna hold her?”

Orion didn’t reply— he really didn’t want to hold her— but Catherine still gently lowered the bundle into his arms, which was heavier than he thought it would be.

“Meet your big brother, Beth.”

If Orion was being honest, Bethany wasn’t really cute. Her face looked a little weird and she didn’t really have much hair. Not to mention the drool from the corner of her mouth. She squirmed a little in his arms, and he just stared at her, trying to figure out what Christian and Catherine saw when they looked at her.

She continued to squirm, and he figured that he should hand her back to Catherine before she fell. That was when she decided to stop squirming and finally open her eyes.

They were a deep blue, like Catherine’s.

Orion couldn’t look away from them.

She blinked. He blinked back.

And she smiled at him for a brief moment, before closing her eyes again.

Orion felt something as she did. He didn’t know what he was feeling, but it was something. Not a bad something. Maybe a good something?

“Looks like she’s sleepy again,” Catherine commented with amusement. With care, she lifted Bethany back into her arms, rocking the baby softly.

Catherine had called him a “big brother.” He never really saw Catherine as his mom, and Christian may have been a father figure, but he didn’t want to call him his dad. No, that was too weird. But Catherine saw Orion as a brother to her newborn child. That had also made him feel something, the same something he felt when Bethany smiled at him.

Orion stared, unable to take his eyes off of the sleeping child. He carefully scooted closer to Catherine, still watching.

He still didn’t know what he was feeling, but he found he didn’t mind it. He kind of liked it.

_Bethany,_ he thought to her. _I’m your big brother_. _And it’s gonna be my job to protect you, okay?_

She didn’t say anything. In her sleep, she gave another small smile.

He wanted to believe that she understood his thoughts.

Watching her sleep in Catherine’s arms, Orion decided finally that maybe… maybe this _was_ his home. Maybe he really did belong.


End file.
